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The Graduate
A gripping new legal thriller from a beloved Australian author, perfect for fans of
The Murder Rule
and
Prima Facie
.
New graduate Fei Fei Chou is an outlier at her prestigious law firm.
She's too quiet.
She wears too much makeup.
She’s only here because the boss has a thing for Asians.
But Fei isn’t here to climb the corporate ladder – she’s here for revenge.
Thirty years ago, three schoolgirls were kidnapped and abused by a man who’s never been identified. The information Fei needs to find him is buried somewhere in the firm’s records.
Deliberately placing herself in harm’s way, Fei will uncover a secret history of power and privilege that haunts not only her firm, but the nation itself.
Taut, riveting and blackly humorous, The Graduate is a mesmerising legal thriller and a masterfully dark crime debut from a beloved Australian writer.
New graduate Fei Fei Chou is an outlier at her prestigious law firm.
She's too quiet.
She wears too much makeup.
She’s only here because the boss has a thing for Asians.
But Fei isn’t here to climb the corporate ladder – she’s here for revenge.
Thirty years ago, three schoolgirls were kidnapped and abused by a man who’s never been identified. The information Fei needs to find him is buried somewhere in the firm’s records.
Deliberately placing herself in harm’s way, Fei will uncover a secret history of power and privilege that haunts not only her firm, but the nation itself.
Taut, riveting and blackly humorous, The Graduate is a mesmerising legal thriller and a masterfully dark crime debut from a beloved Australian writer.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2026
About the author
Rebecca Lim
39 books739 followersRebecca Lim is an Australian writer, illustrator and editor and the author of over twenty books, including Tiger Daughter (a Kirkus, Amazon and Booklist Best Book, CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award-winner), Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky (NSW History Award-winner and Book Links Children’s Historical Fiction Award-winner) and the bestselling Mercy. Her work has been twice shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award, shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards, ARA Historical Novel Prize and Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, shortlisted multiple times for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Aurealis Awards and Davitt Awards, and longlisted for the Gold Inky Award and the David Gemmell Legend Award. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, Vietnamese and Russian. She is a co-founder of the Voices from the Intersection initiative and co-editor of Meet Me at the Intersection, a groundbreaking anthology of YA #OwnVoice memoir, poetry and fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 1, 2026
I was gripped by this book. Very satisfyingly paced, Fei Fei Chou is a memorable character. It is a dark and confronting story, illuminated by a sharply intelligent wit. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.
June 7, 2026
Not a bad read overall. The Graduate has an interesting, pretty dark story at its core and Rebecca Lim tells it well enough to keep you reading.
My biggest issue was that it felt like there were a LOT of themes all competing for attention at once. Grief, racism, identity, trauma, revenge, paedophillia . . . it just became a bit overcrowded. I think the book would have been stronger if the author had picked a few key ideas and really focused on those instead of trying to tackle everything at once.
Still, once you wade through all the noise, there’s a compelling story underneath it all and enough intrigue to make it worthwhile.
My biggest issue was that it felt like there were a LOT of themes all competing for attention at once. Grief, racism, identity, trauma, revenge, paedophillia . . . it just became a bit overcrowded. I think the book would have been stronger if the author had picked a few key ideas and really focused on those instead of trying to tackle everything at once.
Still, once you wade through all the noise, there’s a compelling story underneath it all and enough intrigue to make it worthwhile.
June 18, 2026
Really enjoyed The Graduate, super engaging and hard to put down. Dark story, but the character development is what landed for me, especially as we learn more about Fei.
The graduate / corporate angle also felt very real and added an edge.
The graduate / corporate angle also felt very real and added an edge.
May 12, 2026
This clever criminal thriller set in Melbourne had me captivated from the beginning as it take us into the usually unseen corporate law world. I read it in 2 days as I could not put it down. The book is fast paced and engaging and kept me guessing to the end.
June 21, 2026
An original novel loosely based on real events in Melbourne in the 1980’s and on corporate Australia. A page turner.
May 9, 2026
4.5 stars. It was very difficult dragging myself away from The Graduate to attend to unavoidable things like going to work and sleeping. The novel has great pace and an interesting setting in a top tier Melbourne law firm. Lim skewers the culture of commercial law firms, but I was glad to see some of the lawyers still had some principles and compassion. You get a sense of personalities warped by this merciless corporate machine, while retaining some residual decency which they rarely get a chance to show.
While Lim refers to this as her ew, paedo book and that may put some readers off, it's never gratuitous in its depiction of the horrors the Eastern Suburbs Paedo inflicted on his victims. It doesn't flinch though from portraying the psychological damage and how these traumas have shaped Fei Fei's life. She's a fascinating heroine and reminded me a bit of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, minus the hacking.
Lim draws some interesting parallels between Australia's colonialism and the exploitation of children too and the research behind this subplot is evident.
A refreshingly different Australian crime thriller.
While Lim refers to this as her ew, paedo book and that may put some readers off, it's never gratuitous in its depiction of the horrors the Eastern Suburbs Paedo inflicted on his victims. It doesn't flinch though from portraying the psychological damage and how these traumas have shaped Fei Fei's life. She's a fascinating heroine and reminded me a bit of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, minus the hacking.
Lim draws some interesting parallels between Australia's colonialism and the exploitation of children too and the research behind this subplot is evident.
A refreshingly different Australian crime thriller.
June 4, 2026
Rebecca Lim’s The Graduate tells the story of Fei Fei Chou, a young graduate at a prestigious law firm who hides a secret agenda beneath her mild exterior. This is first and foremost a sophisticated crime thriller, but it holds so much more - insights into the inner workings of the legal profession, cultural identity, challenges that minorities face, and a window into Australia’s past. It is also a glorious underdog story, with a satisfying and realistic conclusion. Bravo Lim, this book will keep you hooked until the very last page.
June 17, 2026
Phew, this novel is dense. I found myself willing on Fei Fei, the heroine and survivor of sexual abuse some decades ago. She reinvents herself as a recent law graduate and joins a prestigious Melbourne law firm with a hidden agenda - to find the person who harmed her and others when they were children.
There is a lot of smart plotting and intricate knowledge of law firms, plus a healthy scepticism of their practices. Alas, there are some believability problems with the story, and the ending is a little disappointing, but still, I enjoyed the first book I have read of this author.
There is a lot of smart plotting and intricate knowledge of law firms, plus a healthy scepticism of their practices. Alas, there are some believability problems with the story, and the ending is a little disappointing, but still, I enjoyed the first book I have read of this author.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A read I enjoyed.
Here we have a once powerless child victim of a paedophile, now as an adult, on the hunt for revenge.
We start with Fei Fei Chou beginning her career at a prestigious law firm, the firm she knows holds the only tenuous link she could find to identifying the paedophile who kidnapped and abused her and at least two others decades ago.
An interesting subplot involving the history of Australia and our past governments taking advantage of another neighbouring country.
Here we have a once powerless child victim of a paedophile, now as an adult, on the hunt for revenge.
We start with Fei Fei Chou beginning her career at a prestigious law firm, the firm she knows holds the only tenuous link she could find to identifying the paedophile who kidnapped and abused her and at least two others decades ago.
An interesting subplot involving the history of Australia and our past governments taking advantage of another neighbouring country.
May 7, 2026
An absolutely thrilling novel with a heroine you will admire and remember forever. I really enjoyed this layered, complex, absolutely compelling novel.
Rebecca Lim is an excellent author. Her work is always thoroughly researched.
What a story! I was totally blindsided by the ending. I can't wait for the film adaptation.
Bravo, Ms Lim
Rebecca Lim is an excellent author. Her work is always thoroughly researched.
What a story! I was totally blindsided by the ending. I can't wait for the film adaptation.
Bravo, Ms Lim
June 22, 2026
A gripping read with plenty of twists and turns. This book will appeal not only to regular readers of crime novels, but also to anyone who has experienced, or wants a taste of, life as a graduate in a large law firm. The character development is excellent. Readers will find themselves willing Fei Fei Chou to get the answers she so desperately wants. A highly recommended read!
May 15, 2026
I could barely put this down! Completely engaging and suspenseful.
May 10, 2026
this was in the "new section" at the library so I picked it up
while I enjoyed reading it, I felt it could have used a better editor - thematically this was all over the place and I wasnt sure what the author was trying to say - it has to do with racism, pedophillia, revenge, colonialism, misogyny and a few other things, so none of them really made an impact. I also find revenge stories to work you really need to care about the main character, and it was hard to empathize with this main character because even she didn't seem like she was that invested in 'the plan' and multiple times just felt like giving up (despite having already spent YEARS setting this plan in motion)
2.5 but ill round up to a 3
while I enjoyed reading it, I felt it could have used a better editor - thematically this was all over the place and I wasnt sure what the author was trying to say - it has to do with racism, pedophillia, revenge, colonialism, misogyny and a few other things, so none of them really made an impact. I also find revenge stories to work you really need to care about the main character, and it was hard to empathize with this main character because even she didn't seem like she was that invested in 'the plan' and multiple times just felt like giving up (despite having already spent YEARS setting this plan in motion)
2.5 but ill round up to a 3
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews